EDES 501 - Blog #8 - Twitter

By P. Wenger, 2010

"You are what you tweet!"

Really?  Is that the saying nowadays?  I got this quote from a site, called Twitercism, that I found when I was researching Twitter about a year ago.  The title resonated with me because it sounded very similar to a saying I grew up with.  It's always nice to have something familiar mesh with something so unfamiliar.  This site prepared me for the public nature of Twitter.  If you know me at all or have read my previous posts regarding privacies, you will know that I was slightly frightened by Twitter at first.  I didn't feel the need to jump on the Twitter bandwagon along with Ashton Kutcher and CNN.

For those of you that don't know, "Twitter is an online social network that asks participants to update their "followers" as to what they are doing in fewer than 140 characters." (Kist, 2010, p. 3).  Sounds simple, right?  Twitter has become much more complex in terms of its capabilities (replying, retweets, direct messaging, hashtags,  shortening links, Tweetdeck, UberTweet, etc), however, it's simple design is still easy to manage and users will find the act of "tweeting" quite simple.

Being that Twitter is a social networking site, I can see that many people are interested in joining.  Teens, twenty-somethings, career oriented adults, and celebrities are entering the Twittersphere at rapid rates.  "The Twittersphere is large, 9.3 million people in the U.S, and growing; surprisingly, 65.4 percent of its users are 45 years or older" (Berger & Trexler, 2010, p. 172).

Part 1: Learning about the Tool (Reflections of the Process)

As with several other web 2.0 tools, I signed up for a Twitter account early on, got myself set up then waited until I had time to further dive into the technology.  Set up was simple.  All a new user needs is a username, password and an email address.  I started out just adding a few people, mostly celebrities and close friends. 

Once you are set up with an account, I recommend you check out the Twitter Help Center.  There, you will find a list of Twitter Basics - support, settings, features, following, etc.  The most useful link for me was Twitter 101: How Should I Get Started Using Twitter?  There were so many useful tips for me, the newbie.

Some other sites for getting started are:

• Top 10 Twitter Tips for Beginners
• Making the Most of Twitter
• Twitter Tips: How to Write Better Tweets

The other useful tool I found was this video. Watch and learn:

I spent much of my time these past few weeks on learning about this tool.  I don't know why I find it such a challenge to get hooked.  I was into Hi5 and Facebook in no time, MSN messenger came quite easily, but this has been a real challenge for me.  Well I still haven't quite found the time to LOVE Twitter, but I've done enough playing around to know that it seems okay.  My husband purchased a book for me that was $2.00 from Chapters called The Little Book of Twitter.  I have read this book cover to cover and have found some insightful tips for me as I begin my journey and as I begin to share my new knowledge with others.

My previous post, Social Networking, found me raving about Facebook.  I'm familiar with it, comfortable navigating around the site and even find myself using it every day.  I really needed that one thing to get me focused on a new social networking option.  After reading my handy little Twitter book, one section stood out to me and I feel that it's worth mentioning....(I think I found that little motivation to start loving Twitter).  Here it is:

Ten Reasons Why Twitter is the Best Social Networking Site

1. It forces berevity - we need/want/love to be short and sweet
2. You don't feel obliged to respond to everyone all the time - phew, I don't have that kind of time
3. You won't get bitten by a vampire or a zombie - or in my case, "poked"
4. You won't get asked to join pointless groups - like "I hate Big Brother"
5. Your friends won't show everyone you know a photograph of you covered in "sick" - I sure as heck hope not!
6. You don't have to describe your relationship with someone you want to follow - like Jimmy Fallon would care anyways
7. It doesn't keep showing you the pictures of people you might know - yes, that's annoying: if I knew them, I would have added them long ago
8. You won't be subjected to a sub-James Blunt acoustic track when you look at someone's profile - thanks MySpace!
9. You can't embed an animated picture of a kitten holding a glittery love heart on your profile page - now what kind of crazy cat person would even want that?
----drum roll please....
10. You can pretend that you're friends with celebrities - Yippie skippie!

(Collins, 2009, p. 51-58)

So once I put time and thought into this top 10 list, I realized how silly some of the other social networking sites can get.  It got me thinking about how I can best use Twitter for my own personal use, how my own education can benefit and also how my students can gain knowledge and support from Twitter.

Part 2: Tools for Personal Use and Learning

I have made very few posts on Twitter to date.  I don't log in all that often, but when I do, I find what others have to say much more interesting (I save the creative statuses for Facebook).  I use it more for a reading tool, not so much a writing tool.  I find the application for the iPod touch and Blackberry Uber Tweet simple and sleek to use, rather than the more complex look of Twitter online.  The only issue here is that I just got the app on my Blackberry for Uber Twitter this past week.  I've been playing around, tweeting more and using Twitter for seeking out information.  It's amazing how quickly some of the active tweeters reply!

Although I find myself thinking about Twitter simply as a place to answer the question "What are you doing?", I've begun to compile a list of what I can use Twitter for on a personal basis.  I can use Twitter to:

• keep in contact with family and friends
• meet new people
• promote blog or website
• start conversations with others
• ask advice
• give reminders about events, activities
• follow the updates of celebrities and other notable people
• share photos and video
• share links to favourite sites like online shopping, sports, books, etc
• make people laugh with a goofy tweet
• find thoughts and opinions on various topics of discussion
• find out what friends, family, and complete strangers are: doing, reading, eating, cleaning, saying, thinking, driving, creating, sharing, dreaming, writing, wishing, celebrating

Here is the list of people that I follow for both personal and professional use:

Part 3: Tools for Teaching and Learning

In terms of my own education, I have used Twitter to seek out information on how to use technology in the classroom.  Several of the people I follow have been recommended by this class, but others I have found on my own. 

Should schools get involved in Twitter?

Yes, but we need to be careful.  As with any social networking tool, privacy can become an issue especially when we are working with children.  I looked to Answers.com, for the question: What age do you have to be to have twitter?  Their response was: Twitter has no minimum age, so everyone old enough to read can join.  Again, the discussion around personal privacy must be had with the students.  We need to prepare them for what is/isn't appropriate to post online.  "Educators need to prepare kids for the world in which they will live and that requires knowing how to be safe online" (Berger & Trexler, 2010, p. 173.

Another feature that I've inquired about is censorship.  A close friend of mine posted a curse word on a tweet and it was never altered by Twitter.  I posted a tweet saying "Does Twitter censor language?".  I got an instant reply from courosa, Alec Couros, that had a simple answer of "no".  Twitter doesn't have any sort of language filter.  This has me slightly worried about using Twitter with students. The other issue I have is that they don't have any sort of restriction on the types of images that people can post as profile pictures.  I searched out a few celebrities and there are several with inappropriate images.  I know that the internet can't possibly be censored of all of it's inappropriate content, but I don't want to encourage the use of programs that have no censorship at all.

After discovering the previous issues, I decided I still needed to figure out how Twitter can be used in school classrooms.  Laura Walker, online blogger, posted Nine reasons to Twitter in schools: 

By P. Wenger, 2010

Can Twitter work in libraries?  Sure.  I have been hearing more and more about the changing uses of technology in school libraries.  Twitter is just another one of the 2.0 tools that can benefit a library program.  "Recently, many libraries across the nation have begun adopting Twitter as a means to keep on the cutting edge of new technology as well as keep patrons informed and interested in library services" (Collge@Home, "What is Twitter, para. 3).

Here are more ways Twitter can be used in the library:

I'm very interested in adopting some of these ideas within my own two libraries.  I'm always looking for ways to help promote library programming so I'll use anything to keep people updated and "in the know".

My Thoughts

By P. Wenger, 2005

Using Twitter personally and professionally can be somewhat of a balancing act.  The key is knowing your audience and deciding on the purpose of each tweet.  Are you looking for information, are you sharing information or are you simply updating the world on your current actions?  I'll admit, I still haven't found my place in the "Twittersphere".  I have yet to LOVE it, but I'm beginning to see it's value personally and professionally.

References

Berger, P & Trexler, S. (2010).  Choosing web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in a digital world. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Collins, T.  (2009).  The little book of Twitter.  London, ENG: Michael O'Mara Books, Ltd.

Kist, W.  (2010).  The socially networked classroom: Teaching in the media age.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin